Comments

I got my first passport about 15 years ago and seeing some of the world has been the best experience of my life. My entire family got their passport including my little one and I must say its an enriching experience. That being said not everyone can afford a passport or have the time to go through the process. I was lucky because I have a post office near me that you don’t have to make appointments for and they take your picture there. But that is the only post office that does in my area. The other post offices, you have to make appointments with. I live near a major city so I’m sure the options are more limited in more rural areas. Jordans and a passport may cost roughly the same thing, but in the grand scheme of things, if you have a passport, that means you want to travel outside of the country and that’s not cheap. You have to get airfare, pay for lodging and food. When its all said and done you’re probably spending at least a couple thousand and on the cheap you’re still paying close to a thousand. Let’s not talk about the cost for a family to travel out of the country. Who has money for all of that? All Amanda is preaching is respectability politics and we hear that enough from white people and the coon brigade. So I get why she got the backlash.

But if you can afford a passport and some jordans and have enough money to cross the border, it may be a good idea to get that passport if for nothing else than to get the hell out of her when Trump starts World War 3.

Amanda Seales, I DISAGREE…I DISAGREE HOMEGIRL!!! Obtaining a credit card does not measure how well a person manages money. Anybody can get a credit card. I remember back in college, credit card companies were lining up for me to apply. I had no job, no income, no credit history, yet they wanted me to sign up. Credit cards are one of the biggest obstacles to building wealth, because it encourages people to spend money that they don’t have. Just Ask Iggy Izalea about credit cards. And contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a credit score for major purchases, like a house. There are mortgage companies that still do manual underwriting which looks at your life history (paying your rent and utilities on time, good employment history) instead of a credit score. This is the old school way of getting a mortgage. But the credit card companies want us to think that it imperative for everyone to have a credit card and credit score. Don’t be fooled! CASH IS KING!…Amanda, I say, If you have your Hella Jordans and you DON’T have a credit card or credit score, You’re WINNING!!! Get your Jordans Yall! What did Meth say? CASH RULES!!!

Hey Rod and Karen!!! I’m finally almost caught up – I’m actually listening to an episode in the same week it was recorded!

To Trey’s comment, I think the path to getting a passport has gotten much stricter in the recent years. If Trey has gone through the process twice, that (typically) means he got his first passport over 10 years ago. When I got my first passport I just walked up to a post office, with no appointment, and completed the process. Fortunately, I had my birth certificate already. I did it on my lunch break and I paid with a credit card. It’s much more difficult now. Fortunately, I renewed my passport before they got even stricter. My current passport picture was taken at a CVS on my lunch break. I have on my glasses in the picture and that girl took my picture about 10 times, LOL. We both would look at the picture and be like ‘nah, this isn’t good enough to stay with me for 10 years.’

I love to travel. I try to go out of the country at least once a year. But you couldn’t have paid me to get unlimited texting back in the day. That crap was $15 extra per month and in my mind, there was so much more I could do with that money. People called me cheap for that. I will pay $250 to see Beyonce in concert but the only designer item you’ll find in my closet is something that was gifted to me. I’ve been told I need to step up my wardrobe. I have Falcons season tickets but the other day, I refused to get my groceries at the store near my friend because the tax rate in her county is higher than the tax rate in mine. If there’s a deal to be had, I will find it and I will use it. To some, I’m cheap – to others I have an extravagant lifestyle. Either way – GET YOUR HAND OUT MY POCKETS! Unless you’re coming to me every month asking me to help you pay your bills, I don’t care how you spend your money – and you shouldn’t care how I spend mine… Amanda!

I don’t understand why Karen had to take time off to get a passport. I have had 2 in my adult life and I just mailed it to the state department and got it back in 2 weeks. The TSA pre-check is not necessary. I only have it because I travel for work by air every week. I don’t think the passport comment was for everyone. It was not a tweet for people who have no desire to travel or cannot afford to travel.

1. Karen had to take the time off because we didn’t have the option to just “mail it” to the state department. You have to take a pic. You have to give them your birth certificate as well. It must vary from place to place. Which is another reason a broad sweeping statement like that was heavily criticized.
2. The comment was clearly for everyone who had Jordans and Nike suits. She didn’t add any other qualifiers on it at the time. It was a tweet saying people who owned those things and didn’t travel were “losing.” And in no way did it explain how simply owning a passport was about economic empowerment.